Christie’s message crosses the Delaware

Speaking to some of the region’s most prominent people, N.J. Gov. Christie turned to his familiar foe: The teachers’ union.

New Jersey Gov.  Chris Christie gave the keynote speech to a roomful of the region’s most prominent business and civic leaders at the Committee of Seventy’s Annual Breakfast Tuesday.Organizers said Governor Christie earned the prime speaking spot for what they said was his willingness to rethink how government works.Christie blasted a familiar foe, the New Jersey Education Association. “They hire an army of lobbyists who sit in the state house everyday and stare at any member of the legislature who dares to talk about education reform, they write big checks contributing to candidates who cow-tow for them, and they write big checks against candidates that dare to speak out against them,” Christie said.

Contacted by phone, NJEA spokesman Steve Baker said: “We’re an organization that has almost 200,000 educators and we care about what happens in education in New Jersey, we care about public education, we have lobbyists and we do talk to legislators about these education issues just like the Governor and his staff talk to legislators about these issues.”

Before Christie took the stage, Mayor Michael Nutter mentioned that Pennsylvania’s Governor-elect Tom Corbett has said that when he takes office he’ll look to Governor Christie’s work in New Jersey.  Nutter encouraged Governor Christie to send a big check to New Jersey’s largest city.

 

The event started with a pop-up opera version of National Anthem. (See video.)